Blog Post

Wouldn’t it be nice to surf using the full range of movements in our bodies?

Imagine quickly popping up, surfing top to bottom, using every part of the wave, feeling really balanced on your board. Just think how much better your surfing would be not to mention your added confidence in the water…

But right now you’re body feels stiff, popping up takes effort and rotating your hips feels like you might need a hip replacement.

Sound about right?

If this is you, then you have two options:

Take NO action and get frustrated

Take action and progress quickly

If you answered No.2 then welcome to yoga for surfers.

Surfing good is about elasticating our bodies. You only need to look at WCT to see how the best in the world move and shape their bodies into positions we could only dream of.

What’s the best way to get your muscles nimble and really flexible?

Yoga!

This is the place to start and it’s really not too hard. All the answers are here right in this article.

All you have to do is read on and start stretching 🙂

What you are going to learn

How yoga can improve your surfing

What you need to start practicing yoga for surfing

How to stay supple when you’re landlocked

Yoga helps to maintain fitness levels

Prevents injuries

Before we begin let’s take a quick look at where yoga originated.

A Brief History of Yoga

Yoga began in Ancient India around 3000BC as a way to cultivate the mind, body, and soul on a path to enlightenment.

At the time the practice was heavily focused on mediation and yoga was introduced by a means of supporting the body for sustained periods of time during meditation.

What we know today as Yoga was born.

Brought to the west in 194o’s and later popularized by America, yoga has grown into a billion dollar industry.

Scientific evidence continues to support the many health benefits associated with yoga.

Let’s begin on the mat…

1. Surf & Yoga a Perfect Match

The benefits of yoga can have on surfing are pretty far-reaching. In fact, the combination of both has been around for some time and for good reason.

Think of it like strawberries and cream, you can have one without the other but to really hit the taste buds you need both.

Surfing and yoga complement one another.

A lot of it has to do with flexibility. The more flexible you are as a surfer the more likely you are to advance your surfing.

Just think of all the different movements you perform when your surfing.

Rotations

Lunging

Compression

Extensions

And what about all the mindfulness similarities.

Breathing

Staying present

Clam

Clarity

Relaxed

And the list goes on…

All of these factors can be found in yoga too. In fact, you will be to notice they cross over nicely.

Yoga for surfers assists the body to move and breath more functionally so when you’re next out in the water you can perform at your best.

The learning curve in surfing is steep, if you can find anything to help then you will have more success.

Here’s an example:

A faster and more fluid pop up will result in higher success rate on take off. This will allow you to catch more waves and have far more fun!

Surfing is hard. There are only a few percentages of surfers in the world that surf good. The rest fall into either the intermediate and beginner category.

How many of those surfers do you think practice yoga?

Not many. Because when you get older you lose your flexibility.

You only need to look at a toddler to see how naturally flexible we are when we’re young. As we develop bad habits and unhealthy lifestyle choices we limit our ability to be flexible and nimble.

Therein lies the problem…

Practicing yoga regularly you will begin to notice how complementary it is to your life and to your surfing.

Take pro surfer Nicki Van Dyke are a great example of introducing a daily yoga practice into her life.

“It’s been so amazing for my mind, my surfing, who I am and how I feel,” she says. “I’ve learned so many things about my body that have helped improved my surfing. I’ve noticed significant improvements in my fitness. Not only has it made me stronger and more flexible, it’s also influenced my breathing.” –Nicki Van Dyke

If you need further evidence on how yoga can improve your surfing take a look at these benefits.

Relieve aches and pains, especially in the neck, shoulders and lower back.

Increase your flexibility, especially in the hips and hamstrings.

Improve your range of motion.

Builds core strength.

Increase your stamina.

Improve your balance and body awareness skills.

Reduce recovery time.

Correct muscular imbalances.

Improve your posture.

Learn proper breathing patterns.

Reduce your risk of injury.

Start stretching and begin hitting the lip with force, not fear.

2. Landlocked Surfers Take Note

Maintaining your flexibility out of the water is key for when you’re back in the water.

Yoga for city surfers is an epic way to feel connected and will help with the surfing fix whilst you’re having to grind out city life until you revisit the water.

You won’t be able to replace the surf stoke but it’s going to be the next closest thing.

If you worked on your flexibility for the winter months and entered back in the water the following summer you would see some MASSIVE improvements.

A few yoga studios host classes for city surfers, this is a great way to connect with like-minded people in the concrete jungle.

Strengthening this area through certain yoga poses will enable the body to perform many different motions at once.

Most of the muscles you use for yoga is exactly the same as when your surfing. The combination of both makes it a perfect match to achieve better results both in and out of the water.

How to Get Started

For such a small set up fee these three components will help to begin your new yoga lifestyle.

Yoga Mat

Consistency

Online class

Yoga Mat

When you roll out your yoga is like you’re affirming to the universe that this is your personal space to connect with your inner self.

Yoga mats are helpful for certain poses so your hands and feet don’t slip. They can be helpful to make any ground a little more comfortable.

There are so many to choose from but very few are made with quality.

Go check out Mundaka. They have an incredibly high-quality range to suit all yogi’s.

Consistency

Creating time in your day for yoga is challenging. However, once you begin to feel and see the differences you will re-align your habits and priorities to make sure yoga is part of your day or at the very least a couple of times a week.

When you working on new skills it’s well documented the key to success is repetition.

The more you are able to practice the better you will become.

Exercises

15 min per session

4-7 days a week

If you practice yoga for more than half of your week you are building healthier habits and this will re-shape your routine.

As with anything new, getting started is the most challenging.

Online classes

If your needing an extra motivation and guidance then maybe an online class is a great place to start.

Most people nowadays are leading busy lives and a commitment to a class each week can be hard to stick. This is where an online class comes in handy.

The pros of an online class:

Access anytime

On-demand

24/7 open times

Cheaper

Access to multiple practices and teachers

Pause and come back when you want

The comfort of your own home

Most online yoga classes let you have a free trial or an opt-out time period, so why not give a go and see if you enjoy it?

When you consider the health benefits and the improvements to your surfing is crazy not to start.

Conclusion

Yoga for surfers is a great stepping stone to advancing your surfing.

A 15-minute practice 4-7 days a week would be so valuable to your health and your surfing.

Taking your cutback to the next level might just be a yoga class away.

Let’s do a quick recap to make sure you’ve taken the most important information from this article:

About

House of Surf was founded in 2017 by former WQS pro surfer Lauren Ringer, with the dream of creating the ultimate destination for recreational surfers seeking the highest quality instruction from the best in the industry using the latest technology.